Minnesota reports 15 new COVID-19 deaths, 658 new infections

Fifteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in Minnesota on Wednesday along with 658 infections with the novel coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease.

The relatively low case count — the lowest single-day total reported on a Wednesday in 2021 — offered further evidence that the latest COVID-19 wave has peaked amid vaccination progress. The state also reported a COVID-19 test positivity rate of 4.9% for the seven-day period ending May 10 — dropping below the 5% caution threshold for viral transmission for the first time since mid-March.

The state on Wednesday reported that more than 2.7 million people in Minnesota have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 2.4 million of them have completed the one- or two-dose series.

The total appears to include more than 20,000 children 12 to 15 who received shots over the past week after the age eligibility for the Pfizer version of COVID-19 vaccine was reduced from 16 to 12. The age limit for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines remains 18.

Gov. Tim Walz and state health officials are scheduled Wednesday afternoon to highlight the importance of vaccinating this newly eligible age group. Among people 16 and older in Minnesota, 61.9% have at least received a first dose of vaccine.

Health officials described the latest COVID-19 wave as a race between vaccinations and the emergence of more infectious variants of SARS-CoV-2. The B.1.1.7 variant first identified in England was responsible for 75% of infections in Minnesota in a four-week period ending April 24, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Only Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee had higher rates of B.1.1.7 prevalence, though the amount of variant spread in a state is at least partly a reflection of the amount of tracking it conducts through genomic sequencing.

Only Florida has analyzed more samples than Minnesota, which has conducted genomic sequencing on 8,232 samples through a partnership that includes the state public health lab, the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic.

The state also is tracking the prevalence of other variants of concern, first identified in Brazil and South Africa, that are more infectious and may cause higher rates of severe COVID-19 illness.

The 15 COVID-19 deaths reported Wednesday in Minnesota included 10 people who lived in private residences and five people who lived in long-term care facilities. The youngest victim was a Carlton County resident in the 45 to 49 age range.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined in Minnesota from a recent peak of 699 on April 14 to 420 on Tuesday.

Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744